If you travel internationally with a laptop, tablet or smartphone, you risk loss or theft of your device and the data stored on it.

Malicious individuals who set out to compromise mobile devices may find not only your business information of interest, but also your university username and password, which could then be used to access and exploit university systems and information resources. In addition, if someone installs malware on your mobile device while you are travelling, the malware could compromise university systems and data when you reconnect your device to the university network.

It is impossible to protect mobile devices against every form of system or information breach. The safest assumption, then, is that if you choose to take your mobile device with you, especially to high-risk countries, it will be compromised in some potentially undetectable way. See the U.S. State Department’s warnings and alerts about high-risk countries.

The only truly secure choice is not to take your mobile device with you when traveling internationally. If you don’t need it, don’t take it with you.

For practical advice about what to do before, during and after your trip, visit OIT’s Technology for Travel Web page.